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Press Release:
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BUYS FORMER BYERS USED CAR LOT
The First Congregational Church of Columbus has acquired the former Byers used car lot at the northeast corner of East Broad Street and Cleveland Avenue. The property is located next door to the church and will more than double the church’s presence on Broad Street.
The church purchased the property for $2.75 million from the heirs of the Platt family, which had owned the parcel for more than 160 years. In 1929 the Platt family heirs sold the church its current property at 444 East Broad Street.
Purchase of the property will enable the church to meet the future space and mission demands of its growing congregation. It also will square off the city’s “arts campus†– composed of the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus College of Art and Design, and the church – by incorporating into that campus the last privately owned property in the four-block area from Cleveland to Washington Avenues, between Broad and Long Streets.
“Our short-term goal is to integrate the property into the existing church land and into the surrounding arts campus,†explained Tom Stewart, chair of the church committee raising funds for the purchase.
Stewart noted that by removing eyesores, adding green space along Broad Street, landscaping the remaining parking area, and enhancing the church’s west entrances, the congregation would transform what was once a distracting commercial center into a welcoming gateway for the church and Columbus’ arts campus. As an additional dividend, acquisition will enable the church’s Broad Street doors to be restored as the church’s primary entrance.
“For the long-term, by securing this highly visible corner on Broad Street, we will control our future and create meaningful opportunities for eventual expansion,†Stewart said.
In order to pay for the property’s purchase and initial improvements, First Church has initiated a $6 million capital campaign. The campaign, titled “The Future’s Broadening Way,†also will pay for repairs to the existing building and will contribute to the church’s local, regional and international missions.
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